Deep well drilling apparatus



June 6, 1944.

J. W. MENHALL DEEP WELL DRILLING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Marroh 17, 1941 Patented June 6, 1944 UNITED 'STATES PATENT OFFICE) `1 f `2,350,364 M l y DEEP WELL DRmLING'APPARATUs James W. Menhall, Centralia, Ill. Application `March 17, 1941, Serial No. 383,765

3 Claims.

This invention relates to drilling apparatus for deep bores, such as oil wells, and its-object is to increase the efficiency of the drill in'its regular work, and to provide certain convenience of operation under special circumstances. The apparatus includes hydraulic means for driving the drill bit while the drill pipeitself is maintained in substantially stationary relation, but in addition to the rotary power for turning the drill the present invention provides means for automatically adding intermittent hammerfblows in axial direction to render the drill more effective, particularly when working inrock or other hard formations. Another object of the invention is to provide a positive clutch-device by which the drill may be rotated by rotation of the drill pipe itself when desired. The invention consists in certain features and elements of construction in combination, as hereinafter described and as indicated by the claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a verticalaxial section showing a casing` and rotary driving means attached lto the lower end of the drill'pipe but with the drill itself omitted from the extreme lower end of said casing.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the turbine rotor element shown on a larger scale than Fig. 1 and taken substantially at the plane indicated at line 2-2 on Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a detail side elevation of the turbine rotor taken partly in section at the line 3--3 on Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view on a larger scale than Fig. 1 showing the drill bit and special actuating means associated therewith embodying this invention; section is taken as indicated at line 4--4 on Fig. 5.

Fig. 5 is a transverse section taken as indicated at line 5-5 on Fig. 4.

As shown in the drawings the drill pipe I is connected at its lower end with a casing 2 secured rigidly to the pipe so that if the upper end of the pipe at the mouth of the well is held against rotation, the casing 2 will also be thus anchored. The upper end of the pipe includes a tting, not shown. connected with a suitable pumping apparatus by which a fluid commonly referred to as mud is pumped down the pipe I for actuating a hydraulic turbine device by which the drill bit is rotated. Within the upper portion of the casing 2 a centrally disposed sleeve 4 transfers the fluid t0 the upper end of the hollow shaft 5 from which it passes by ports 5L into the annular space within the casing 2 and lol. 255-4) around the drill shaft 5. This shaft'carries on or more turbine rotors 6, each disposed'between a pair of stator elements 1, 1, the stators having a plurality of ports l'la each substantially parallel to the axis of the apparatus while the correspondingly spaced ports E of the rotor are each slightly oblique to a transaxial plane lso thatthe flow of driving fluid throughthe ports 69 causes rotation of the shaft 5 in a well understood manner. The lower end of Ithe shaft has a hollow bore 5b into which the fluid passes from the last or lowest turbine elementby way of ports `5C. and the drill bit 8, secured to the lower endfof the shaft 5, has a communicatingv central bore 8% through which the fluid" escapesfor return upwardly through the well, the casing 2 of the drilling apparatus being somewhat smaller than the bore which the drill bit produces.

When the bit is thus hydraulically operated it turns in the lower end ofthe casing'2. The

bit includes ahead I8 which is shown as detachably screwed into a terminal I9 carried bythe end of the shaft 5, and this terminaly I9 is a cylindrical member in which aplurality of' drills or cutters isslidably mounted, as shown' in'Fig'-l ure 4. Each drill includes a shank 20 with a flared lower end 2I provided with four cutting edges 22. Each of the drill shanks 20 is yieldingly upheld by a spring 24 reacting against a head sleeve 25 which is screwed onto the upper end of the shank 20. The cylindrical body I9 is connected with a turbine rotor such as that shown at 6 in Figure 1, by means of a shaft I5, and the stationary bushing I6X, in which the lower end of the shaft rotates, is fitted with a plurality of plungers 30 pocketed in the bushing and each provided with its own spring 3 I, tending to urge it downwardly toward the rotating body I9. The upper end of the body I9 carries sloping cams 32 disposed at the same radial distance from the axis of rotation as the plungers 30, so that as the body I9 rotates, the plungers 30 ride up the inclined faces of the cams 32 and are thus lifted in opposition to their springs 3l until the abrupt vertical faces of the cams pass under the plungers, allowing them to drop suddenly onto the upper ends 23x of the drill shanks. Thus each plunger delivers a hammer blow to one of the drills, forcing the latter downwardly in opposition to its own spring 24 for attacking the rock or shale through which the well is being drilled. The abrupt face of each cam 32 may be formed as a removable block 34, since, as shown, it overlaps the upper -end of the head sleeve 25 on the drill shank and would otherwise interfere with the assembly or removal of the drill. Preferably, each of the bores 26 which accommodate the head sleeves 25 of the drill shanks is formed with an inclined notch 2'! leading from the side of the bore opposite that at which the cam 32 is positioned, so that if the plunger 30 follows the upper end of the drill shank into the bore 26 it will ride out along the inclined surface of the notch 21 as the body i9 continues to rotate after delivery vof the hammer blow of the plunger30. It may be understood that although Figure 5 shows the plungers 30 as equal in number to the drill shanks 2U, and as spaced at the same intervals so that their hammer blows will be delivered 'simultaneously' to the drills, this arrangement is not essential; for example, four or ve plungers might'bef'provided to operate upon three uniformly `spaced drills so that the hammer blows would not be simultaneously delivered, but each drill would receive four or ve such blowsduring one rotation of ,the body lI9 in rwhichit iscarried.

-While there are shown and described herein certain spepific structure embodyingthe invention, it willbe manifest-to those `skilled in the art :that various modifications Yand re-arrangements of the partsfmay bemade-without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and.that the same-.is not-limitedto theparticularfform herein shownand described, exceptfin so yraras `indicated .by the .appended claims.

-I claim as my invention: ill-@In a,welldrillingiapparatus a dril1.pipe,a drill bit rotatably attached to the -lower end endi thereof, y fluid i motorf means responsive to -the flow of drilling fluid through the apparatus-fr rotating the bit, the drill .pipefand thebit `having adjacent vportions -with opposing transaxial faces, the said facey ofthe bit including aipluralityxof vprojections uniformly spaced around .the axis Yof "rotation of the bit, andi each.formed .with afsloping surface inclined toward the opposing face of thetpipeand ending` at anabrupt shoulder approximately perpendicular to said face, the pipecarryingsa plurality of-spring-pressed.plung kshoulders of the projections pass under the plungers.

12. `In'awelldrilling apparatus, a drill pipe, a

drill bit rotatably carried at the lower end thereof and comprising a body portion with a plural- City of drillipoints'slidably mounted therein, the

drill pipe and the bit having adjacent portions with opposing transaxial faces, means by which saiddrill bit is rotated' relatively to the drill pipe, the saidvface of thebit including a plurality of projectionsruniformly spaced around the axis of rotationof the-bit, and each formed with a sloping surface inclined toward the opposing face of the drill pipe and ending at an abrupt. shoulder approximately V:perpendicular to 'said face, the drillipipe carrying sal-plurality of. spring pressed plungers spaced around vthe axis of rotation of the-bitfin position to engage `saidprojections as the bit rotates: and means yieldingly A upholding the 5shank of -eachdrill -point adjacent the abruptshoulder ofonev of -said projections, `whereby rotation-of 'thefdrill bit vcausesthe plungers to ride .up theinclined faces ofttheprojections and to rbe-driven suddenly yagainst ythe upperends of thetdrill Shanks as =the abrupt'shoulders-of the projections pass under .the plunger.

3..-In'v the combination defined in claim 2, said abrupt shoulders engaging lwith the respective plungers to operate as clutch means for rotating the'bit bodilyiwith the drill pipe when the latter is rotated.

JAMES -W. MENHALL. 

